


Running Out of Time

by paintedbluerose



Series: Whumptober [4]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Gen, Hurt Zuko (Avatar), Protective Zuko (Avatar), Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020, Zuko (Avatar) whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:00:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26862535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintedbluerose/pseuds/paintedbluerose
Summary: Toph, Zuko, The Duke and Teo go exploring and run into trouble.Theme 4 for Whumptober: Running Out of TimePrompts: caged, buried alive, collapsed building
Relationships: Aang & Toph Beifong & Katara & Sokka & Suki & Zuko
Series: Whumptober [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1950010
Comments: 4
Kudos: 174





	Running Out of Time

**Author's Note:**

> I’m gonna be honest, this kinda mostly sucks. I had an idea in mind and threw in Teo and The Duke cause they don’t get enough time and realized there’s a reason for that! They’re just throw away characters who are there to have someone to go with Hakoda when they split up.
> 
> I tried to make this halfway decent but I hurt and my head is killing me. So it all sucks. I don’t even know if it makes sense.

Zuko took the afternoon off to explore the area around the Air Temple. Aang was supposed to be training with Katara or Toph or both so Zuko had plenty of time to look around. Plenty of time away from Katara’s glare-not that he was hiding from her. He understood how mad she was, he just didn’t want to have to deal with it for this afternoon.

Zuko was far enough away he was sure Toph wouldn’t feel him. There was enough branches, trees, rocks, and water in between to block her sense. Hopefully. 

He wanted some time by himself. To think. To reflect. To be away from people who would ask questions. He could think about his mother and his Uncle. To think about what he would say to his Uncle (must practice often away from prying eyes and ears).

“Sparky! What are you doing?”

He rolled his eyes realizing there was no where he could go to get away from Toph. “I was hoping to have some quiet time.”

“You have quiet time when you meditate. Come explore with us.”

Zuko looked back at Toph and saw The Duke and Teo with her. He thought those two were with Haru more than anyone else else. “Where are you going?”

“Toph said there’s a building nearby. We wanted to see what was in it.” Teo said.

Zuko shrugged. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to or not but he wanted to make sure they were okay. If there was a building nearby, chances were it wasn’t stable. He could also spend some time with the boys and maybe have a conversation with them. He knew nothing of them besides their names and they were with Haru. 

It didn’t take long for the four of them to find the building and Zuko was glad he came. It was an old stone house with plants growing around and in it. It was located next to a river but that was the only appeal. It didn’t look stable at all.

“I’m not sure we should go in.”

“Are you afraid Sparky?”

“No. It doesn’t look safe.”

“You worry too much. We’ll be fine.”

Knowing there was nothing he could do to persuade Toph, he agreed. “I’m still against this but let’s go.”

The Duke pulled on Zuko’s arm to get his attention. “I don’t know about this either but Toph scares me.” He whispered to Zuko.

Zuko smiled. “She scares me too sometimes.”

It must have been the right thing to say to The Duke because he started opening up to Zuko. He was talking nonstop and asking questions that Zuko couldn’t answer because The Duke didn’t allow for a conversation. Zuko didn’t mind. He was learning about the kid and his time with Jet.

The building itself wasn’t that fantastic. It was old and nothing exciting was in it. Almost nothing was. It had a nice view but so did the Air Temple. It was next to a river which Katara may like. Other than that, it was like an abandoned room in the Temple. 

“Don’t say anything Sparky.” Toph pointed a finger at Zuko.

“I didn’t! I wasn’t going to!” Toph glared at Zuko. “Okay maybe I was going to.” He muttered. “Let’s just go back.”

“It was nice to get away from the Air Temple.” Teo said.

Toph started to speak but Zuko tuned her out. He heard a crack and tried to figure where it was coming from. Another crack that sounded closer and louder. One more crack and Zuko realized what was happening. The building was collapsing. He looked to Toph and saw when she realized it as well. Before anything was said or could be done, the ground below them started breaking. Zuko grabbed Teo and The Duke who were the closest to him and held on. He was too far from Toph to grab her but he could at least protect the two boys as they fell.

Once they stopped and nothing else was falling on them, Zuko took the time to figure out their situation. The Duke and Teo were awake and unharmed. Zuko was awake and mostly unharmed. His leg was sore but manageable. Toph was knocked out but looked otherwise unharmed. They were surrounded by earth and stone around them-almost buried alive-though there was a small amount of space to move. He could hear the sound of water rushing close to them and hoped it wasn’t the river flowing into their space. A quick walk around the space confirmed his fears. He had to get them out of here before they ran out air or drowned.

Up in the corner there was a small hole that let light in. Zuko climbed up the rocks to peak out. It was an opening next to the building they were in. It was too small for Zuko to climb out of but maybe not for someone else.

“The Duke, I need you to do something for us. Do you remember how to get to the Air Temple?”

“Of course. It’s not far.”

“Good. I’m going to help you get out and I need you to run back and get Katara and Aang for help. Can you do that?”

“Yes.”

Zuko carried The Duke up despite his protests he could climb and pushed him through the opening. It was just big enough for him to climb through. Now Zuko had to figure out how to make the hole bigger without causing another cave-in.

He checked each rock around the opening for stability before moving any of them. Each time he made a movement he was afraid he made things worse and they were going to be buried alive. Even more than they already were. After moving a few rocks, he figured it was big enough for Teo and Toph.

By the time he jumped back down to where Teo and Toph were, water came up to his knees. “Teo, if I lift you up, can you pull Toph out?

“I can. What about you?”

“I can pull myself out.”

“No. You can’t fit right now. How are you getting out?”

“The Duke is getting help. I’ll be fine.”

“No you won’t. I’m not stupid. It’s not big enough. Even if The Duke is the fastest runner, it still will take too long for him to come back. Water is coming in too quickly. Either you’ll drown or you’ll suffocate before they can come. And even if you were able to make the opening bigger there’s still a risk of a cave-in. It’s not stable. So how are you getting out?”

“I’m not sure. I need to get you out before I figure that out. I won’t have you suffer when I can help. If I can’t, if I don’t make it... have them find my Uncle. He can teach Aang firebending.”

“Zuko-“

“Water is coming in too quick. I need to get you out now. The more we talk, the less time we have.”

Teo nodded and Zuko began the climb up with him. His leg was hurting more with movement and more weight but Zuko ignored it. There were more pressing matters.

After Teo was out, Zuko went down to where he placed Toph. She sat up, above the bottom, so she wouldn’t drown. Before Zuko climbed up with Teo there was no water around her. Now water came up to her chest. He had to hurry.

Teo pulled Toph as Zuko pushed until she was out safe. He made sure she was at a safe distance before he turned back to the rocks. If he could loosen them up a little bit more, maybe they would fall away. Teo helped on his side of the opening as well.

Zuko moved to adjust his position when he heard the cracking again. He was about to open his mouth when the rocks around him were sliding away and he was falling. The water softened his fall but the rocks were still falling around him. He could feel he was being pinned down with each rock coming down. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe. He was drowning. He was being crushed. He was being buried alive. He wasn’t going to make it.

~~~~

Teo saw the fear in Zuko’s eyes right before he fell. Teo clawed at the rocks, trying to find a way to Zuko. Zuko was going to die if he didn’t hurry. 

“Toph wake up! Zuko needs you!” Teo yelled as he continued clearing away rocks. “Toph! Somebody! Help!”

As if the universe heard him, he could see Appa close and he could hear Toph moaning as if waking up. 

“Teo, what’s wrong?” Aang asked as he jumped off Appa.

“Zuko! He’s trapped down there! He’s going to drown if he’s not already crushed.”

“I feel his heartbeat.” Toph said as she joined them. “It’s faint but it’s there. Twinkle Toes, we need to be careful about moving the earth.”

Toph and Aang moved the earth around until they could see Zuko. Katara moved the water away as they pulled Zuko out. Katara knelt next to Zuko and began to pull water from his lungs. Teo held his breath as Katara kept pulling water. It was a lot of water. Too much water.

“Is he going to be okay?” The Duke asked.

No one spoke and Teo was afraid of what that meant. Katara didn’t say anything about her healing. Toph didn’t say anything about his heartbeat. Did that mean it was too late?

As if hearing Teo’s thoughts, Zuko started coughing and Katara stopped pulling water. “I think I’m okay.”

“Sparky!” Toph ran to Zuko and hugged him. “I should have listened to you.”

“Probably but you wouldn’t have. You’re too stubborn.” 


End file.
